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Dom Pérignon Oenotheque

Dom Pérignon is a brand of vintage Champagne produced by the Champagne house Moët & Chandon and serves as that house's prestige champagne. It is named after Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk who was an important quality pioneer for Champagne wine but who, contrary to popular myths, did not discover the champagne method for making sparkling wines.

Dom Pérignon is always a vintage champagne, meaning that it is not made in weak years, and all grapes used to make the wine were harvested in the same year.

Since 1959 a rosé version of Dom Pérignon is also produced.

Dom Pérignon is always an assemblage of Pinot noir and Chardonnay grapes, although the final composition changes every vintage: at times a blend in perfectly equal proportions (e.g. 1990 Rosé), at times up to 60% Chardonnay (1982) or 60% Pinot noir (1969), and only once going over 60% (with 65% Chardonnay in 1970). According to Richard Geoffroy's Manifesto and blog: "Dom Pérignon expresses its first plénitude after seven years in the cellar", with a second plénitude 12 to 15 years after the vintage (first Œnothèque release) and a third plénitude after 30 to 40 years (second Œnothèque release). The grapes entering the blend come from the best, most sunlit sites. Serena Sutcliffe comments: "With age, Dom Pérignon takes on a totally seductive fresh-toast-and-coffee bouquet, one of the most intriguing scents in Champagne.

The number of bottles produced in each vintage is not precisely defined (at least 2 million).

Colour White

Vintage 1996

Producer
Dom Pérignon

Region Champagne

Score 97 AG

Condition Mint

Pack Size 6x75cl

Quantity 0

Duty IB

Wine type Sparkling wine

97 Antonio Galloni

The 1996 Dom Perignon OEenotheque offers up layers of pastry, lemon, smoke and toastiness. At first deceptively understated, the wine turns positively explosive and layered on the palate, showing remarkable tension, elegance and power, all wrapped around a seriously intense frame. The balance between fruit and acidity is awesome. This is a marvelous DP OEeno. The OEeno is the same juice as the regular Dom Perignon, except the OEeno is aged on the cork while the regular DP is aged in crown-sealed bottles. Once disgorged, the OEenos gets a slightly lower dosage than is typical for the original release DP. This bottle was disgorged in 2008. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2026.